The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa (ROMENA) supports disaster response and preparedness activities in 20 countries by working closely with Humanitarian Coordinator’s (HC)/Resident Coordinator’s (RC) offices, OCHA Country Offices and Humanitarian Advisory Teams (HATs).

The Government of Tunisia extended every month the state of emergency declared after November 2015 attack on elite presidential guards in the capital. The state of emergency confers exceptional powers on Tunisian authorities, notably to forbid strikes and public gatherings, close movie theatres and control the press.

The fragile political situation in Libya continue to have an impact on the security situation in Tunisia.

In Egypt, the situation remains tensed in North Sinai Governorate with regular security incidents affecting greater Cairo and the Nile Delta.

During this last winter, the Middle East faced harsh weather conditions. Freezing temperatures, snow storms, torrential rain and flooding created more difficulties for millions of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region. Due to early planning, preparation and procurement, UNHCR was able to provide a timely and efficient response ensuring families were equipped to survive the winter.

As temperatures dropped in November with heavy rainfall and strong winds, UNHCR expedited the
release of its winter plan to keep vulnerable refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) warm
and protected from the cold conditions across the Middle East.

· UNHCR’s regional winter plan for the Syria situation will address the winter needs of 2.5 million Syrians (1.6 million refugees and 920,000 million IDPs), requiring USD 170 million, out of which USD 137 million was received in contributions by the end of September.

· UNHCR’s winter plan for the Iraq Situation will reach 700,000 Iraqis (almost 100,000 refugees and close to 600,000 IDPs), requiring USD 66 million, out of which USD 30 million was gratefully received in contributions by the end of September.

According to UNHCR 3,988,857 have now fled Syria. More than 1.7 million of them fled in 2013 alone. During the course of 2013, an average of more than 4,700 people fled every day. In 2014 more than 895,000 Syrians fled the country, an average of more than 2,500 per day.
Children make up 52.1% of the refugee population, meaning there are an estimated 2,078,194 refugee children in the region.

The severe winter storms ‘Huda’ and ‘Jana’ swept across the Middle East in January and February 2015, exposing millions of refugees to freezing temperatures, and bringing heavy snow, rainfall and high winds across the region. UNHCR responded immediately to keep vulnerable refugees and internally displaced people warm and protected from the harsh conditions. UNHCR and its partners replaced damaged tents, provided repair kits, delivered emergency supplies and offered alternative temporary shelter for those forced to abandon their homes due to the snow storms.

• In Syria, the 10th national polio vaccination campaign was carried out from 15-19 February, 2015. 2,989,659 children under five were vaccinated against polio including over 60,000 children in hard to reach areas, and 1,790 children reached for the first time in Homs, Dara’a, Damascus, Rural Damascus, Lattakia, Deir Ezzor and Qunietra.

• In Iraq, since January 2015, 92,787 Syrian refugees were able to access to safe drinking water in the camps, mostly through sustainable water systems.

According to UNHCR 3,833,554 have now fled Syria.
More than 1.7 million of them fled in 2013 alone. During the course of 2013, an average of more than 4,700 people fled every day. In 2014 more than 895,000 Syrians fled the country, an average of more than 2,500 per day. Children make up 52.1% of the refugee population, meaning there are an estimated 1,997,281 refugee children in the region

• In response to the harsh weather conditions at the end of December UNICEF emergency teams distributed winter clothing, blankets, heating supplies, cash and vouchers to 916,000 children in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey of the 1.3 million targeted. Since January 11th, UNICEF has provided additional winter support to just under 105,000 beneficiaries bringing the total to 1,020,825 beneficiaries reached since the start of the cold.

Myanmar: Fighting between the Myanmar army and the MNDAA, an insurgent group in the Kokang area of Shan state, displaced tens of thousands of people. Some fled into central Myanmar, while between 30,000 and 50,000 are thought to have crossed into Nansan, Yunnan province, China.

UNFPA reaches 18,300 women of reproductive age in Damascus, Rural Damascus, Homs, Aleppo, Tartous, Lattakia and Hama with reproductive health and GBV services and conducts a field mission to Lattakia and Tartous, which host 744,000 internally displaced persons, including 186,000 women of reproductive age. The mission included discussions with partners on monitoring the humanitarian response.